Thank You, Tony Kanaan

It's been a rough year for me, sporting-wise.

The Colts lost the Super Bowl.  (ok, that happens, I reasoned.)

Butler damn near won the NCAA title, but their half-court heave missed by about 1 inch (man, the city of Indianapolis cannot catch a break this year I remarked in the media room that night.  To which I was reminded that the Indiana Fever lost in the WNBA championship, too.)

Tony Kanaan nearly restored my sporting faith on May 30, until a late pit stop cost him a chance at the most thrilling Indianapolis 500 victory many of us would have ever seen.  It also fueled some serious dehydration-related rage on my part for the better part of an hour.

I'm a Cubs fan.  They're miserable to watch most days, except for the 2-3 per week they actually play to their capabilities.

On Saturday, the high school baseball team I help coach lost 1-0 in 9 innings in the state finals.  (I'm still fairly numb over that one.)

Upon waking up on Sunday, I could not shake reviewing the play-by-play from the previous night.  I wasn't sure how I would get through the day, to be honest, other than to immerse myself in the fridge full of Miller Lite in the garage.

Thankfully, the IZOD IndyCar Series came through with their most thrilling race of the season later in the afternoon, helping lift the malaise (for a while, anyways).  Furthermore, Tony Kanaan won the race.  Not a Penske or Ganassi driver, but Tony Kanaan.  And while people talk about Andretti Autosport being one of the "Big Three," let's be honest: Ganassi and Penske have ruled this series with an iron fist since the 2008 season, I reckon.

But perhaps AA is ready to take that step back into regular contention - they now have two wins this season (Ryan Hunter-Reay - Long Beach) - and if their road/street program is as good or better than they showed earlier this year (Kanaan, Hunter-Reay and Andretti have all been in contention in races), it's within reason to think that they could be back.

And, fortunately, Tony Kanaan helped restore my faith that 2010 won't completely be a lost sporting season for me.  Even if the Cubs continue to suck.