With the summer heating up, so are things here at GSI.com as we start our new series, Hottest Athletes (female):

LAURE MANAUDOU

Date of birth: October 6, 1986
Birth place: Villeurbanne, France
Sport: Olympic Swimmer

Bio: Manaudou currently holds the world records for the 400 m freestyle (Short Course) and 200 m freestyle (Long Course). She won the gold medal in the women's 400 m freestyle at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Controversy surrouned the gold medalist in 2007 though as former lover, an Italian swimmer named Luca Marin, leaked photos and videos of her over the Internet.  She seems like quite the crazy girl and one you will want to watch in this month's Olympics.

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Just For Fun hottest women athletes, laure manaudou

The biggest problem at the Sprint Cup race in Fontana, California last week wasn't the rain fiasco; it was the large number of empty seats. This problem is nothing new  to the track either. Since the Auto Club Speedway opened, attendance has been lower than expected and it is clear it isn't getting better. Maybe the track should cut down to one race, maybe they shouldn't race in California the same weekend as the Oscar's, maybe they shouldn't hold a race there a week before the Las Vegas race or just maybe the area doesn't want a track. Whatever the reason for the poor attendance, major changes could be on the way to address the problem.

Gillian Zucker, president of the speedway, announced that possible reconfiguration of the track is being discussed with the goal of creating a two-mile restrictor plate track. The process would be extremely expensive (upwards of $10 million) with additional banking and new soft walls needing to be installed, but the hope is that the tight racing that has made Daytona and Talladega famous will save the floundering attendance figures.

Zucker said that the idea of creating a third plate track on the Sprint Cup schedule came from Michael Waltrip, which isn't a shock considering all four of his career wins have come on plate tracks. Most drivers don't like giant, multi-car wrecks, so I imagine Mikey is in the minorty on this proposal, but the fans might think otherwise.

Personally, I don't want to see another plate track. Plate racing is geared toward the fans that only watch the end of a race and those that tune in the hopes of seeing a big wreck, neither of which I really care about anyway. At plate tracks, drivers can cruise around in last place, half a lap behind the leaders and charge to thr front with 20 to go. It makes 90% of the race meaningless. Adjustments are minimal at best, and good equipment and pure luck trump actual driver ability and strategy. Why do you think Mikey has four wins at plate tracks and hasn't even sniffed victory lane at any other track?

I like tracks where every lap matters and cars can be adjusted and go from the back to the front and vice versa. California has that already, and it isn't a bad race to watch. There was plenty of two-wide racing in last weeks event, Carl Edwards made a nice late-race charge past Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson to win and Kyle Busch must have passed 100 cars.

I don't think the problem is the track configuration, but if track officials are determined to make a change they should go with something original. Leave major differences in the banking between each set of corners or make drastic progressive banking to create even more racing grooves. Give the fans soemthing they have never seen. Going from a duplicate track of Michigan to a duplicate track of Daytona and Talladage, isn't a very revolutionary idea. 

NASCAR auto club speedway, restrictor plate track

NASCAR promised me a race. At 10 p.m. they said it would start at 11. At 11, midnight was the start time, then 1 a.m. and finally two in the morning. Like any loyal fan, I stayed up, not wanting to miss any racing action. When 2 a.m. rolled around, what did I get? I got a 30-second interruption of an episode of Whacked Out Sports that I was forced to suffer through, telling me that the race is being run tomorrow at 1 p.m Now I will go to work with less than four hours of sleep and I'll miss the race anyway. Not cool NASCAR.

How long does it take to get to California from Cincinnati? Brian France and I need to have a talk.

NASCAR auto club 500

It is about 1:30 in the morning, and I am still awake, waiting to watch the end of the Auto Club 500. Coverage started at 3:30 in the afternoon and since only 87 of 250 laps are complete, this race will take at least 12 hours to run. At this point, I have no choice but to stay up until the end. It's like staying out late in the race on old tires. I've already committed and there's no turning back now. I can handle the lack of sleep, but I'm starting to worry that I will have to leave for work before the checkered flag waves. Whatever happens in the final 163 laps, I have to commend NASCAR and FOX for some very entertaining hours of rain delay coverage.

Bad jokes, interviews with every driver and crew chief that could be found and a 30-minute conversation about the pinewood derby were some of the highlights, but nothing could top the quest to find a name for FOX's newest piece of technology - Gopher Cam. For those that aren't as obsessed with NASCAR as I am, Gopher Cam is an in-ground camera that shows the cars running over the top of it. Everytime there is a shot from the in-ground camera, a goofy gopher graphic appears on the screen. Kyle Busch won the contest, naming the graphic Skid.

As far as I am concerned, the graphic should just be called stupid like all the other weird graphics that go along with NASCAR television coverage these days. There is no way that these things attract new fans and they only annoy the die-hard ones. The Aaron's Lucky Dog can go the way of Old Yeller. We don't need thermo-cam. I already saw that in Predator. Don't even get me started on Draft Boost. The glowing aura around the cars, looks like something out of Star Trek. 

Well, I've killed some time and the race should go green soon. Before I go though, I have one last question. Does Tom Cruise know he was never an actual racecar driver? I mean, I got a tear in my eye when Cole Trickle pulled into victory lane at the Daytona 500, but Days of Thunder wasn't even that great and certaintly doesn't give him enough street cred to walk around the pits talking NASCAR. Now if he had been in Stroker Ace, it would be a different story.

NASCAR auto club 500, tom cruise

In an era where pitching comes at a high price, a new trend is developing among some MLB clubs. Teams are buying damaged and worn goods, signing formerly successful pitchers at a discount price.

The San Diego Padres started things by signing Mark Prior to a one-year $1 million deal. The 27-year-old righty has shown no signs of returning to his 2003 form when he went 18-6 with a 2.43 ERA, but he has good stuff and is still young. In the baseball world, a million dollars is like change you find in the couch. Why not take a chance on Prior putting together a healthy season? 

The Cardinals followed suit and signed Matt Clement to a one-year, $1.5 million contract, hoping the 33-year-old right-hander can recapture the magic that made him a 200-plus strikeout guy and an All-Star in 2005. Well worth the gamble, considering the struggles the Cardinals’ makeshift rotation experienced last season. Even if Clement is mediocre or only pitches a month or two, it’s no worse than another season of Braden Looper and Mike Maroth.   

Not surprisingly, the always low-budget Kansas City Royals are getting involved, signing 39-year-old Hideo Nomo to a minor league contract. Nomo was named the NL Rookie of the Year in 1995 and has thrown a no-hitter in both leagues. The Royals have nothing to lose, and if Nomo can make the squad he can add another impressive accomplishment to his resume – surviving a year with the team formerly known as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Past history indicates that injury riddled pitchers rarely return to form or overcome their arm problems, but at bargain-basement prices the risk is minimal and the potential reward is high. After all, there is no guarantee that paying millions for previously healthy pitchers will work out either. Carl Pavano, Jason Schmidt, Mike Hampton and Barry Zito are a few names that come to mind.

Whether they have a $100 million or $1 million contract, every pitcher is one slider away from a blown out elbow and Tommy John surgery. For small market teams, giving a former stud pitcher a small contract filled with incentives makes sense. It’s a gamble and the odds aren’t great, but the amount of money at stake is low. Remember, Erik Bedard, Justin Verlander, Jon Lieber and Jason Insringhausen are just a few guys that have returned from elbow surgery to have some level of success.

MLB free agents, pitchers

The NFL regular season is over and unfortunately the Bengals and I are both watching the playoffs from the couch. This season was definitely disappointing, but there is one benefit from a 7-9 record – a top-10 draft pick. Enter a world of mock drafts and Mel Kiper projections to get me through the next few months.

--The draft order was released New Year’s Eve and while the three through five picks are subject to a coin flip, the Bengals are assured the ninth selection in the draft. With a defense that allowed nearly 350 yards per game and ranked in the bottom half of the league against the run and the pass, the pick has to be used to bring in an impact defender. The Bengals have used their last two first round picks to bolster the secondary so this time the front seven has to be addressed.

--LSU’s Glenn Dorsey would step in and plug the middle and Virginia’s Chris Long would provide the edge rush the defense desperately needs, but unless the teams picking ahead of the Bengals all pull a Minnesota Vikings and fail to get their picks in on time, neither player is going to be left.

--Thankfully, a number of other teams ahead of the Bengals will likely go offense with their first pick. Jake Long and Darren McFadden will undoubtedly go early, and Kansas City, Atlanta and Baltimore could all use a quarterback. If some combination of Matt Ryan, Brian Brohm and Andre Woodson falls into place, the Bengals will have their choice of solid defensive options.

--As an Ohio State alum, I am keeping my fingers crossed that middle linebacker James Laurinitis is still available when the Bengals are on the clock. An athletic playmaker at the linebacker position is just what the fans need to help them forget about Odell Thurman and David Pollack. Chuck Bresnahan and Ricky Hunley will be the first to tell you that it’s hard to field a stout defense with a makeshift line-backing core.

--The one team standing in the way of my dream scenario is the New England Patriots, who are the proud owners of the seventh overall pick thanks to some brilliant strategy by the 49ers. Teddy Bruschi, Junior Seau and Mike Vrabel are all solid players but all three are in their 30s. Laurinitis would add youth to the mix, and he has the versatility that Bill Belichick looks for in a player. My hope is that Belichick opts for his usual draft day strategy and trades down for multiple picks, leaving the OSU star on the board.

-- If Lauranitis isn’t available, there are plenty of other options. USC’s Sedrick Ellis is the best option at defensive tackle next to Dorsey and OSU’s Vernon Gholston has all the makings of an excellent pass rusher. At the linebacker slot, the Trojan’s Keith Rivers isn’t a bad number two option.

In the coming months, the combine and workouts will make the draft order a little clearer, but the Bengals would be foolish not to address the defensive side of the ball in the first round. The rest of the draft is up for debate, but I would like to see a legitimate threat at the tight end position. USC’s Fred Davis would look pretty nice in orange, gashing the middle of opposing defenses and moving the chains.

NFL bengals, draft