Sonja Gantt

NewsChannel 36 Anchor

Editor's note: Sonja Gantt blogs each week for The Charlotte Observer's mommy site, MomsCharlotte.com.

Like every other little girl growing up in the 70's and 80's I was a fan of Michael Jackson. The first concert I ever went to was a Jackson 5 show at the Charlotte Coliseum (now Bojangle's Arena) in the early 70s. There was no one cuter than Michael in my mind and every girl I knew dreamed of having Michael as their boyfriend.

Many of the things I "treasured" when I was younger are long gone but not my Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 albums. They are somewhere in my parents home. As an adult I still enjoyed his music but didn't pay much attention to his life except when he was in the news for one reason or another. But since we learned of his death I've been very interested in every aspect of the story.

I've been trying to figure out why since I didn't know him personally and my life won't tangibly change because he's gone. But his death for me represents so much more.
One commentator (I can't remember who) said Michael provided the soundtrack for a generation. His songs do take me back down memory lane. "Thriller" debuted when I was in college. The song "Man in the Mirror" came along when I was at a particularly reflective point. Talented musicians live on in the hearts of their fans forever because their music is soul stirring. Simply put it moves you. I am sad because I realize the man who wrote so many wonderful pieces of music will create no more.

For all of the money he made and the freedom he had to do what he loved I also see Michael as somewhat of a tragic figure. Despite his many achievements it was obvious that he couldn't get past the childhood he felt he never had. He insinuated over the years that the perfect routines we saw on stage came at a high cost. I wonder what his life would have been like if his early years were different? Would he have created the same music?

And even as an adult his fans and the ever present paparazzi must have made it difficult for him to be completely free. One of the saddest parts of celebrity to me is the enablers. The people who will do and say anything to remain in your circle but really don't have your best interest at heart. It must be difficult to figure out who to trust. If the rumors are true about Michael's addiction to painkillers then I am sad that there weren't more people who were willing to say "no" to him. We are truly our own worst enemies sometimes.

I've heard people say Michael Jackson was most comfortable on stage or in a music studio. It is fortunate for us that he was able to spend a great deal of time in both places. His musical genius left the world a better place through songs that will always make this generation sing along, dance or just sit and enjoy. He is mourned I think by so many not just because of his place in musical history but the place he has in our personal histories.

Ira Cronin

NewsChannel 36 Sports

I just got back from the NBA draft headquarters of the Charlotte Bobcats and listened to Michael Jordan and Larry Brown talk about their 12th pick in the NBA draft, Gerald Henderson. It was totally funny to me that the first words out of Larry Brown's mouth was that he was "real happy about the pick, but did have a hard time drafting a Dukie."

Anyone who is serious about their college school takes their rivalries seriously, but especially in Chapel Hill and Durham, but as Larry also pointed out the NBA is a business and if Henderson helps the Bobcats win, no one will care what college he played for.

The thing I noticed about Henderson most when I have seen him play is that he is a freak of an athlete and the chance that he can be mentored by a professional like Raja Bell I think will give him yet another leg up in his journey as a pro. Don't forget Gerald's father also played in the league which will also help the younger Henderson on his way.

I was impressed when Jordan talked about the fact that Henderson is a player who works on his deficiencies. Jordan mentioned that when in college the knock on Henderson was that he couldn't dribble to his left, he began to develop the ability to dribble to his left. Sounds a little like a guy who was criticized early in his professional career for not being able to defend, and then was named the defensive MVP of the league.

In the end, like Larry pointed out the Charlotte Bobcats represent all of the Carolina's which means that Gerald Henderson should be right at home.

NewsChannel 36 Sports Director

Other draft picks laughed and joked, burning off that nervous energy that builds up for weeks entering the NBA draft. Not Steph Curry. Our man from Davidson was as calm and cool as ever.

Make no mistake, Steph enjoyed himself and the experience of New York on one of the biggest nights of his life. But he handles it all, and he handles himself differently from everyone else.

The same way he never rushed on the court, Steph calmly took questions after he was picked by Golden State, 7th overall. I got a chance to talk with him on a satellite connection about 10 minutes after he was picked. (You can see that interview right now on WCNC.com)

I reminded him that a little over a year ago no one expected this for him. Not the attention, not the adulation and certainly not the status as a top 7 pick in the draft. He told me that he didn't really sit down and think about the NBA until after his sophomore season. What a ride. From the great upset run in 2008, to dazzling Lebron James, to network talk shows and all the rest. Steph has remained the same, down to earth, stunningly talented kid he's always been.

I know that Charlotte's proud of him and we all should be. Bob McKillop got a little emotional when he told me last year that the kids who followed Steph at Davidson will want to grow up to be just like him. Now that will apply to kids in the San Francisco/Oakland area (if Curry doesn't get traded to Phoenix as reports have suggested). Think about what he'll accomplish with young people simply being himself.

I can't wait to see what he'll accomplish on the court. I know that he'll make an even bigger impact off the court. Good luck, Steph. We will miss you, but we'll love staying up late to watch you grow.

NewsChannel 36 Sports Director

Let's start with this: After nearly 7 years covering Major League Baseball, the headline above and everything else you see here is my informed opinion. I'll tell you what I think and what I know, and then you can decide.

I believe that newly retired baseball union chief Donald Fehr is the greatest crook in sports history. Take the idea of the Black Sox scandal and a fixed World Series in 1919 and multiply that times 1,000. Then multiply that by all the home runs that were hit by steroid-fueled monsters. Now you've got an idea of just how bad the steroid era has been. What makes sports different than a soap opera? Different than WWE wrestling? The results you see in sports are genuine and authentic. Not in Major League Baseball.

I know that through legal guile and deception Fehr gave Major League Baseball players a license and an invitation to break the law, abuse their bodies and abuse their sport. I know that everybody in the baseball knew it, but no one was willing to stand up and stop him. (Tom Verducci leads the parade of those with proof: Fehr was told in the late '90s by his union executive board that steroids were a big problem in baseball.)

I understand that Donald Fehr is what happens when powerful men get desperate. There is no more dangerous combination in sports. And no one was more desperate than baseball owners after labor issues wiped out the '94 World Series. Baseball's leaders understood that their methodical, plodding game was lost in an instant gratification world. What I call "Baseball Gladiators" cured all that.

Does anybody think that the "Chicks Dig the Long Ball" ad campaign just happened? That baseball staking its reputation and future on men with grotesquely puffed bodies was just a coincidence? I know better because I asked. Nothing better than baseball owners and leaders who have to gall to talk about steroid abusing players "cheating the game." The shock of it all.

I know that Fehr publicly spearheaded the drive to keep a legitimate steroids policy out of baseball. I believe it was a bluff that was so stupid that it worked. So stupefying that while everybody's mouths hung open, staggered by an idiotic explanation, Fehr kept talking and got a deal done with himself and the devil.

"How dare you accuse players of using steroids?" was the basic theme, along with "How dare you try to implement surprise testing? My players will not have their Thanksgiving interrupted to pee in a bottle!" Did he really think anyone would buy those arguments? Baseball owners did. They couldn't swallow it fast enough.

Back before MLB steroid testing had teeth, I'd ask players I knew well, "When you're playing do you look at guys and say, 'He's using'?" The honest answers from the players I knew best was "of course." Funny now that the one name that came up the most 8 years ago was Roger Clemens.

I know that I didn't recognize some players who came back from the offseason and 3 months of working out. I laugh when I think back to the first spring training I covered when I said to an All Star player, "I didn't know that was you!" I know that after steroids testing finally got some teeth, players looked like party balloons that had shriveled when the air leaked out. I know that their instant results left too much skin and too little muscle once they stopped using.

I know that photos of Mark McGwire before and after he pumped jet fuel into his body are cartoonish. I know that McGwire's refusal to "talk about the past" in front of Congress was bad enough. But I also know that's not nearly as disgusting as when he looked Roger Maris' family in the eye and hugged them after McGwire "broke" Maris' single season home run record. Baseball's owners and leaders applauded it all, gleeful that their antiquated sport was back in the headlines. Baseball's gladiators were saviors to the men who knew too much.

I believe "Baseball Gladiator" fits too well. Disposable masses of muscle sent to perform feats for the masses. The blood-lust comes when the masses don't care about the consequences. Sure, we all knew Mark McGwire had "grown" way too much, but wasn't it cool to watch that ball fly so high and so far? I did a live sportscast from a baseball game back in 1998, and fans in a city far away from St. Louis waited, watched and roared at the pictures in the 13" monitor we used on location. "He did it again!" "Yeah!" They all screamed in unison as McGwire closed in on the most hallowed record in sports.

I know that none of those records count. Not really. Just like if somebody won 12 US Open golf tournaments in a row, and later we found out his 450 yard drives came from an illegal club. The illegal instrument in baseball's case came in the bodies of the steroid abusing players.

Do I think that with everything going on in the world today that baseball's darkest, ugliest hour is some kind of a national tragedy? Hardly. I liked a bunch of the people I covered. Only I know now what I knew all along -- they were using and abusing supplements, many of them illegal, to pump up their bodies and post stats that aren't legitimate. I know that Donald Fehr opened the door to it all.

I believe the happy ending comes two generations from now when parents can tell their children or grandchildren, "See these cartoonish bodies on these guys? This is what happens when it gets too convenient to look the other way. This is what happens when people decide consequences don't exist."

Sonja Gantt

NewsChannel 36 Anchor

Editor's note: Sonja Gantt blogs each week for The Charlotte Observer's mommy site, MomsCharlotte.com.

Life doesn't have to appear extraordinary to be extraordinary. A point driven home to me at a recent celebration of my maternal grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary and by the Disney Pixar movie "Up."

My husband Mitch and I are about to celebrate 20 years of marriage. My children think that's such a looooong time and I guess from the perspective of a 13- and 10-year-old it does seem like a long time. But we all can agree that 65 years of anything is a looooong time. I feel grateful to still have all four of my grandparents and their two marriages are great examples of true commitment.

My maternal grandfather Ernest is a veteran. He worked as a plumber and farmed several acres of land in South Carolina for many years. My grandmother helped out on the farm and raised six children without many of the conveniences I enjoy today. They've seen wars, the Great Depression and dealt yearly with the financial uncertainty of farming. So it goes without saying their life together had it's ups and downs.

Watching them and the many who came to help celebrate, I realized how much they are admired -- not for any specific accomplishments you'd read about in the newspaper or see reported on a newscast, but for their character. They are well-known for being wonderfully kind, decent and generous people. They built a life by building relationships with people in their community. My grandmother is the epitome of hospitality and an incredible cook. No matter what time you arrive for a visit, even if it's unannounced, she can have a meal ready within the hour.

My grandfather is a man of few words but when he speaks it is always something relevant, wise and often funny. They are both very committed to faith, family and each other. The values they stressed to their children included the importance of personal responsibility as well as the care and concern for others. My mother, aunt and four uncles are living tributes of what my grandparents thought was important.

It is truly the simple things in life that make the difference. Sometimes I think we all get too caught up in trying to be extraordinary. We get wrapped up in who's going to be first, the best or the most amazing. The race seems so unnecessary in the end.

Mitch skipped the golf course this Father's Day and wanted to go to the movies. We went to see "Up" -- the movie about the adventure of an elderly man and a boy. I won't spoil the story for those of you who have not seen it, but I'll just say in the end I think the movie makes the same point that the lives of my grandparents do. Life is not about some amazing, over-the-top adventure or trip that you'll take, it's about how you live day-to-day and the people who are with you on this journey.

Sonja Gantt

NewsChannel 36 Anchor

Editor's note: Sonja Gantt blogs each week for The Charlotte Observer's mommy site, MomsCharlotte.com.

I love reading stories about random acts of kindness. If you do too, then keep reading. I want to tell you about a woman who certainly was a master of thoughtfulness and blessed me with many wonderful random acts for almost a decade.

Mary Ellen Woolard died last week at the age of 85. She wasn't a relative, a friend of my parents or a former teacher. She came to know me because of TV.

Mary Ellen (she insisted we call her by her first name, which was tough for me initially because of her age) reached out to not just me but several of my colleagues. There are many regular viewers who often write or call but Mary Ellen was different. She didn't want to talk about any news story when she called. She was interested in us personally.

She crocheted blankets for our newborns, brought cake or Godiva chocolates for our birthdays every year and sent numerous cards. Over the years there were lunches and phone calls. She was always delightful and you always left a lunch with her feeling better than when you arrived. She's one of those people who just have a contagious spirit.

I admire the way she lived. She was a widow with one son, a daughter-in-law and a grandson. And while she loved her family, she certainly had a very full life apart from them. At one point she and some of her friends who enjoyed "hula dancing" even formed a group and shared their talent around Charlotte. She traveled, enjoyed her friends and found pleasure in doing for others.

If Mary Ellen hadn't reached out to me I doubt our paths ever would have crossed. I feel blessed to have known her. I am grateful for her encouraging words over the years, her example of a life fully lived, but most importantly the thoughtfulness she displayed with no expectation of anything in return.

Sonja Gantt

NewsChannel 36 Anchor

With each year of motherhood I understand my mother better and better. The things that used to annoy me as a child no longer annoy me. I finally get it.

My mother is very direct and passionate about people being honest with themselves and others. As a teenager I wasn't really allowed to sulk. After an argument she would give you a little time alone in your room and then she would show up at your door asking (really demanding in her unique way) that you talk and tell her what was wrong. I used to hate it. I used to want to scream, "Mom, leave me alone. Give me some space. I don't want to talk about it!"

But now some 30-plus years later...the payback. I have a 13-year-old and I hate hearing "I don't want to talk about it." I think I've done a pretty good job establishing a very open relationship where she feels free to tell me about anything. Clearly I understand there will be times when she doesn't want to share. But it's tough not to pry when your child seems sad, depressed or upset. That's when "I don't want to talk about it" just doesn't cut it.

I thought I'd fixed the situation early on by telling my children to remember the importance of honesty. If you're clearly upset and I ask you what's wrong, you are not allowed to say "nothing" because that so obviously is not true. I tell them it's better to say "I can't talk about it right now." Usually they end up coming back to me within a few hours and want to discuss whatever the issue is. I figured this was great because it lets them know I'm concerned but gives them the power to decide when they want to share. It was working for me up until recently. Now twice in the last two weeks both kids have gone past the two-hour mark and never come back to discuss anything with me.

I remember a youth minister friend of mine said be sure to keep your children talking. You have to know what they are thinking so sometimes you can interject another opinion or even correct some falsehood that's causing them trouble. That's why I lately have been persistent with my 13-year-old. I want to know what's going on and want to help if I can.

So I am interested in hearing from you. How do you keep the conversation going? Would you ever read your child's journal? Are you a nag? What's worked well for you? Do you think it's just best to accept that the teenage years are moody ones and we should just let them all be? Let me hear from you and let's help each other.

NewsChannel 36 Sports Director

Best comment that I heard at pole night from a member of the Stewart-Haas race team, "It's not just that we have all the resources that we need. Tony Stewart knows how to use them."

Does he ever. Stewart's teammate, Ryan Newman, rolled to his 8th pole at LMS, bumping Jeff Gordon aside to grab the top spot for the Coca-Cola 600. Everybody latched onto this in a hurry: Newman, Kyle Busch and Gordon are the same three that ran three-wide in a "hair on fire" sequence in the All Star race. But don't forget this either. I talked with Ryan earlier this year at his hauler and reminded him he's already had some luck in big anniversary races, winning the 50th Daytona 500. Don't bet against him in the golden anniversary Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.

One of the great things about the 600 is the tie-in to Memorial Day. Newman lit up when he talked about his interaction with South Meck grad Sgt. 1st Class Joseph Goodloe. After seven separate tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Goodloe returned to Ft. Bragg as an instructor. He showed Newman how to fire the .50 caliber sniper rifle and Newman laughed as he told me that he hit his target nine times out of ten. This is a weapon that has a range of 2,600 yards. Whew.

Kurt Busch didn't crack the top 10 on pole night, but he looks relaxed and ready. Jimmie Johnson picked the 2 car as one of his pre-race favorites.

Gordon caused a stir when he admitted that his back issues could force an early retirement. The pain is a problem and driving a race car every weekend won't help. Personally, I'd love to see him grab that 5th title before he goes. Talking with him again on Wednesday after his foundation made another huge donation to his children's hospital in Concord, I was reminded again that Jeff "gets it." That's on the track and off.

The new tires will make the end off the race fun. Goodyear has given drivers a harder tire that will certainly make it possible to take 2 tires for track position late. Darlington and the All-Star Race proved you can win with 2 late, so watch for it again. Who's willing to gamble?

PHOTOS from qualifying round at LMS

Sonja Gantt

NewsChannel 36 Anchor

It's test week in Charlotte- Mecklenburg Schools and I spent part of the weekend reassuring my children. Telling them not to worry, take their time and do the best they could. This isn't their first experience with end of grade exams, better known as EOG's, but each year there's a bit of anxiety and fear that seems to creep in. It usually goes away after the first day when they realize the test wasn't as bad as they thought. Our fears usually aren't.

I'll never forget Gabrielle's first year taking the tests. We ran into a neighbor at the grocery store who wished her luck. Later that evening Gabrielle starts crying. She was nervous before but now was even more so since even a stranger knew about the exams and was wishing her luck. She'd never met this neighbor and didn't know she was a retired principal.

I understand the need to set goals and have standards that children should accomplish within each grade I just wonder if the anxiety and fear that some children feel works against their performance on the exams.

I have a fear of snakes. Never been bitten, understand they are important to nature and know they don't want to be bothered with people either but I just don't really feel comfortable around them. For the last several summers we've discovered at least one copperhead in our yard. One year I came within a foot of stepping on one. Mother's Day weekend I was working in the yard very close to a brick retaining wall. All of a sudden I saw an eye in a small crack in between the bricks. Mitch found two snakes in that same area of the yard last year. As I stared at this eye I noticed what looked like something coral and black behind it. In my mind I saw a snake's body. I was furious. We've put out Snake Away, filled the cracks in this wall with rock and tried to clear away any excess brush. So I did what I always do when I spot them. I called Mitch. Unfortunately he wasn't in the house...he was 10 minutes away at a soccer practice with Grant. As I stood there watching, I wanted to make sure it didn't move until he got there, I noticed the eye moved a little further into view. Did the eye belong to a snake or a little bitty tree frog? It has to be a snake. What else would explain that coiled body behind the eye?

Mitch arrives, taps the brick and out jumps a tiny tree frog. We still aren't sure what made up the body I thought I saw...probably some mixture of red clay dirt and leaves. Fear allowed me to believe it was a snake's body. Sometimes when we fear something everything around it begins to support that fear.... founded or unfounded.

Fortunately my kids have never failed the EOG's. But each year this fear creeps in for them. I thought my recent "snake" experience is a simple example of how fear cannot only be unnecessary but also change how we view a situation. If you're worried that you're about to lose your job then you perceive every slight in the office to be confirmation of that fear.

There's no doubt that sometimes fear is warranted. I want my kids to be so frightened of illegal drugs that they never have a desire to experiment. But I also want them to know when their fears might be unfounded and rather than giving into them learn instead how to deal with them. That will serve them well not only when preparing for the EOG's but for the rest of life as well.

NewsChannel 36 Sports Director

Sam Hornish just talked about the satisfaction of winning his first race of any kind in NASCAR. Hornish rolled into the All Star field with a win in the showdown, and he looked good doing it. Jeremy Mayfield also raced his way in. Jamie told us that his windshield was blocked by oil from lap 1 on. He also had his view blocked by the substance that crews use to dry the oil off the track.

Joey Logano gets in on the fan vote. Great moment when Ric Flair introduced Joey with his trademark, "Wooooo!" Joey tried to answer but his "Woo" was missing a few O's and the exclamation mark.

Other notes: It's obvious now that the seats just won't fill up. Not even close. Let's race.

ALL STAR SATURDAY

Who else but Kyle Busch to get us off to a roaring start in the burnout competition. Kyle hit the wall, hit the pylons that designate out of bounds before running into a recycling bin on the way off the track. Fans initially roared before booing a bit. Kyle drove off in a cloud of smoke to zeroes from the judges - that's every judge except one - Ric Flair gave Kyle a 10. Brilliant.

Kevin Harvick won the burnout title. He stayed within the limits and made plenty of smoke.

Right now, Flair has made his way off the track and is taking photos with hoops legend David Thompson. Thompson posed before grabbing a friend's camera and snapping away. Legends can be fans just like everybody else.

Other notes:

At 6:57pm attendance is down. Big chunks of seats are empty and the campground and RV lots have wide open spaces. I don't know how this compares to the October race, but recovery obviously has not taken hold yet with race fans. Tough to see again, but it's reality and it hits hard.

This is a great event, and it's fun to cover from start to finish. Here's hoping that this is the last year that fans hurt so badly that they have to stay home.

By the way - here's the NewsChannel 36 picks:

Bailey - Jimmie Johnson
Engineer Karl Saal - Mark Martin
Photographer Mike Lee - Carl Edwards
Photographer Herman Towe - Kevin Harvick
Photographer Kevin Ridley - Kyle Busch

I know. Routine pick for me, but if you the shot we ran last night of Johnson pumped when he got the pole, you know it means something to the 48 team at the home track. When Jimmie's focused (and that's a lot) he's tough.

NewsChannel 36 Sports Director

The first thing I noticed today was Rick Hendrick. Back at the track after a few weeks battling a sinus problem, Rick doesn't have to wildly text from home any more on race days. Hendrick also jumped into Dale Earnhardt Junior's garage. Not an unusual move, but Rick is not one to ignore a problem either.

PHOTOS from the track

We talked with Junior last week in Darlington. Same thing again today. He's ready and willing to talk, but you have to come up with something other than what he's heard for the last 2 months - "Dale, why do you stink right now?" Any version of that question gets a one word answer. Better questions get great answers.

Junior admits his team feels the pressure and the effects haven't been positive. 18th in the standings isn't a disaster, but it is when so many want you to win every race.
It doesn't help that all 3 of his Hendrick teammates are all safely in the top 12.

A rock solid, clean run in qualifying is a start. Junior starts 4th and the crowd will rock as long as he races up front in the All Star race. It's time and Junior's done it before.
Saturday will get interesting.

ALL STAR QUALIFYING

If you saw our expanded NASCAR coverage on Wednesday night with Tony Stewart you knew it was coming. No steam. No anger. Just a big smile and a shrug of the shoulders. Stewart forgot that All Star qualifying requires a 4 tire pit stop. Smoke roared out of his pits after a 2 tire change. Ooops. He radioed quickly, "I'll be right back." Great stuff. I can't say this enough - since taking over as an owner/driver, Tony Stewart is a different person. Fun to see, even when he's not perfect.

Stewart will start 15th Saturday night. Carl Edwards thought he had the pole, but he'll start 14th after a penalty for 3 loose lug nuts. Kyle Busch moves back to 13th after his crew was also penalized.

Who benefits from a clean run? The 88 team, of course. Dale Earnhardt Junior admitted his team has been under a tremendous amount of pressure, and Dale hopes that tonight's run to a starting spot on row 2 will help everyone relax.

Jimmie Johnson has won five times at LMS, but tonight he grabs his first All Star pole. The 48 team is primed and pumped.

NewsChannel 36 Sports Director

You never know what you'll find in testing. Ray Evernham and Jeff Gordon brought a new kind of car to test in Charlotte. What they found threatened to change NASCAR's competitive balance.

It all started with one of those concept meetings that everybody has, but nobody really makes work. Rick Hendrick made it work like only he can.

Basically, Hendrick challenged his engineers to start with a blank sheet of paper and build a different kind of car. An engineer named Rex Stump took on the challenge and then some. Stump's creation had a different kind of chassis and different geometry than every other car with an emphasis on underbody aerodynamics that were years ahead of everybody else.

It was 1997. Gordon and Evernham were at the height of their powers as one of the most dynamic pairings in racing history. They checked with NASCAR before the Winston All-Star race to make sure the new creation was within the rules. NASCAR officials gave the OK and waited.

Evernham likes to say, "There weren't many rules back then." Those would come soon enough.

Gordon told me last week that the first time he tested the car it was good, but "nothing special." That changed when it was unleashed in the race.

The Jurassic Park paint scheme was part of the name "T-Rex." Rex Stump was the real inspiration.

Evernham knew he was in trouble when the 24 car was nearly a second a lap faster than everybody else. Gordon dominated and NASCAR officials were waiting.

Humpy Wheeler, the LMS president, asked if the car had an extra engine. Or if it had some kind of jet assist rocket.

Nope. What it did have would last all of one race. NASCAR said "great job" before taking the car away to use, essentially as a teaching tool.

We hope you enjoy our interview with Ray Evernham as much as we did. (For those of you who have seen other parts of our talk with Ray, this time we focus solely on T-Rex.)

You can see that interview by clicking here.

NewsChannel 36 Sports Director

Humpy said it best when we sat down to talk, "endings are never good."

After 33 years at Lowe's Motor Speedway, highlighted by a decades long run as track president, Wheeler told me he has not been invited back for the 50th running of the Coca-Cola 600. So the man who brought NASCAR into the mainstream; the man who put NASCAR under the lights in prime time; the man who helped foster and promote exactly the kind of driver the sport now misses, won't be at LMS on May 24th.

Wheeler only told me because I asked. He admits that Bruton Smith's decision to leave him off the guest list stings, but he also seems like he's ready to move on.

Click here to watch the entire interview with Humpy Wheeler.

Humpy has too many projects to count - a driver development program called Humpy's Heroes, a new book due later this year, and several other TV projects. He loves working with his son and daughter and he loves consulting with NASCAR. But there's a touch of sadness when his departure and separation from LMS comes up.

Wheeler says he had no choice but to leave. His version is simple: Bruton Smith didn't tell Humpy about possibly moving his speedway. And he didn't tell Humpy about his new drag strip project. As the Chief Operating Officer Wheeler needed to know. He didn't, so it was time to go.

Far too often this is what happens when ego, power and emotions get into the mix. We see it all the time in pro sports. Just ask the Denver Broncos and their former quarterback, Jay Cutler.

You can see Humpy talk about his departure from LMS at the link provided. And you can see more of his interview on Sports Extra this Sunday. We'll touch everything from what's missing in racing to the search for the next Dale Earnhardt. Humpy has ideas to improve the sport he helped build and he'll share them all with his trademark honesty.

Click here to watch the entire interview with Humpy Wheeler.

Jeremy Markovich

NewsChannel 36 Producer

Say, do you like free things?

We mentioned this Monday on the news at 4 p.m., but from now until May 9, the Charlotte Area Transit System will give you free rides on a bus or train, so long as you show up with your bicycle. This is all part of Bike! Charlotte, a 10-day, two-wheeled extravaganza that runs through May 10.

I was overjoyed to get a free ride Monday night, after my ride home from the gym turned into a deluge, which I watched with a mocking sneer from the inside of a warm bus. Many thanks to the driver for remembering to give me a pro bono ride.

You could theoretically squeeze an infinite number of bikes into a LYNX train, much like sardines in a can. Each train has four bike hooks per car, provided the people sitting in front of them give up their seats. But here's the catch: each bus can only accommodate two bicycles in the front rack, so if it's full, you'll have to wait for the next one to come along. Hope you can find a bus stop with some shelter if you're trying that today. (Full disclosure: you'll be competing with me for a spot on the bus. I rode through the rain to work this morning).

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Two more quick things: Thursday is Don't Drive Day, where you could theoretically win prizes by getting to work without using your car, although carpooling is one of your options.

The idea is this: you don't drive, then you go on to dontdriveday.org by noon Friday and tell them that you didn't drive, and then you could win things like an iPod Touch, solar phone charger, programmable thermostat, and so on. You have to live in Mecklenburg or one of the nearby counties. There had been a glitch on the website earlier, but after an inquiry to CATS Tuesday morning, the inter-tubes were un-kinked and the site is up and running.

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Have you noticed fewer people jamming the roads on your way to work? So did some of the staff at public radio's Marketplace program. Here's their theory: It's not gas prices, but unemployment that's unclogging the interstates during rush hour. I asked the folks at Charlotte DOT about this last month, and they said they'd try and figure out whether there's actually less gridlock on our roads. Stay tuned.

Sonja Gantt

NewsChannel 36 Anchor

Editor's note: Sonja Gantt blogs each week for The Charlotte Observer's mommy site, MomsCharlotte.com.

I'm fortunate. I work with some really wonderful people who have become close friends. One of the closest is Ann Sheridan. I love Ann because of how passionate and positive she is about life. She's the one in the office who can always figure out a way to get the story done. Ann throws her all into everything she does and trust me when I say she does a lot.

She's a mom to 10-year-old twins and a 13-year-old. She stays busy at her children's schools, with swim meets, church, work and I'm sure other groups I know nothing about. She's the one who's always willing to volunteer and the one with the great ideas. And what's more amazing about her is how thoughtful she is. Many of us have been the recipient of Ann's random acts of kindness. So you can understand why so many of us were so saddened by her most recent struggle. Ann's fighting breast cancer.

The diagnosis came last year around the holidays. She's tackled it in the only way I guess Ann can do things... with passion and hard work. She read all she could about the disease, talked with cancer survivors and now she's courageously sharing her experience with the hope it might be able to help someone else. That's just like Ann... always giving.

Soon after she received the news she started allowing our cameras to follow her. In her reports airing this Tuesday you will see Ann not only at her doctor's office but also at home with her family. It was compelling to hear from her children and her husband Steve about how they felt when Ann was diagnosed. Cancer is a diagnosis that impacts more than just the patient.

I appreciate the honesty with which Ann has faced this disease. She never tried to hide her fear with her friends but I, at least, never heard her say "why me?" In a recent Charlotte Observer article Ann talked about how often as a reporter she's asked others for interviews during their toughest moments. I'm so glad she's got the courage to turn the camera on herself during one of her most difficult times. Thanks, Ann. I am inspired by your example.